Classical mechanics

Newtonian mechanics

Generally speaking, it is essential that you be completely comfortable with manipulating the
following equations and all of their variants (i.e., all quantities relating an object’s position,
velocity, and acceleration):

1
x(t) = x0 + vt + at2 v(t) = v0 + at
2
Newton’s second law relates the force F imparted on an object to the change in momentum
(p = mv) that object feels:

dp
F =
dt
If ṁ = 0 then this is equivalent to the usual F = ma formulation.
For an object undergoing circular motion, the centripetal acceleration felt by that object de-
pends on its velocity v and the radius r of the circular path:

v2
ac =
r
Kinetic energy

There are two primary forms of kinetic energy that we’ll run into: translational and rotational.
These are given by:

1 1
Ktr = mv 2 Krot = Iω 2
2 2
Here, m is mass, v is velocity, I is moment of inertia, and ω is angular velocity.

Gravity

The magnitude of the gravitational force and potential energy of a point mass m at a distance
r from another point mass M are given by:

GM m GM m
Fg = Ugrav = −
r2 r
The difference in potential energy between two points located a distance h apart in the limit
that h  r (i.e., the uniform field approximation) is given by:

GM
Uuni = mgh g=
r2

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 Kepler’s third law relates the period P of an orbit to its semimajor axis a:

4π 2
 
2
P = a3
GM

Here, M is technically the sum of the two masses, but typically one of the masses is much
larger than the other (as is the case with, e.g. the Sun-Earth or Earth-Moon systems) so you
can usually approximate it as though M is just the larger of the two masses.

Friction

The force of friction between a surface and an object depends on the normal force N between
those two objects (for an object sitting in a uniform gravitational field, this force is typically
N = mg) and the dimensionless coefficient of friction µ:

Ff = µN

There are two types of friction typically encountered: static and kinetic. The coefficient of
static friction is usually larger than the coefficient of kinetic friction, but they both behave
identically.

Angular momentum / moment of inertia

The angular momentum of an object moving with momentum p~ about an axis located ~r away
is given by:

~ = ~r × p~ = m~r × ~v = I~ω
L

The moment of inertia I of a point mass m located a distance r from the pivot axis is given by:

I = mr2

For an extended object, one needs to integrate over the entire mass distribution. The GRE
exam lists the moments of inertia for some simple objects, such as a rod, disk, and sphere.
If you know the moment of inertia of some object of mass M about its center of mass Icm , then
you can use the parallel axis theorem to determine the moment of inertia of that object about
any other axis that is parallel to the original one and located a distance r away:

Ik = Icm + M r2

A related concept is torque, which is the angular equivalent of a force. Torque is given by:

~
dL
~τ = = ~r × F~
dt

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Simple harmonic oscillators

The general differential equation for simple harmonic motion is given by:

d2 x
2
= −ω 2 x
dt
Here, x is some displacement parameter and ω is the oscillation frequency. This equation has
solutions in terms of sines and cosines, with specifics determined by the initial conditions of
the system. The potential energy of a simple harmonic oscillator is given by:

1
U = mω 2 x2
2
The archetypal simple harmonic oscillator is a spring-mass system. For a spring with spring
constant k, load mass m, and displacement from equilibrium x, the oscillation frequency and
potential energy are given by:
r
k 1
ω= Uspring = kx2
m 2
In the small-angle approximation, a freely-hanging pendulum also exhibits simple harmonic
motion. For a simple pendulum of length ` in gravitational field g the oscillation frequency is
given by:
r
g
ω=
`
For a pendulum that isn’t just a single point mass at the end of a string, but rather has some
sort of mass distribution associated with it, the oscillation frequency is given by:
r
mgh
ω=
I
Here m is the total mass of the pendulum, I is its moment of inertia about the pivot point,
and h is the distance between the pivot and the center of mass.

Lagrangian mechanics

The basis of Lagrangian mechanics is the Lagrangian L, which for a given system is the differ-
ence between kinetic and potential energies:

L=K −U

For a system containing many particles, the Lagrangian is a function of the positions qi of each
particle, the velocities q̇i of each particle, and time t. The equations of motion for each particle
can then be obtained by applying the Euler-Lagrange equation:

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∂L d ∂L
− =0
∂qi dt ∂ q̇i

This equation is obtained from the action principle, which states that a particle will follow a
trajectory that minimizes the action, S, given by the time integral of the Lagrangian over the
path:
ˆ
S= Ldt

Hamiltonian mechanics

The basis of Hamiltonian mechanics is the Hamiltonian H, which for a given system is the sum
of kinetic and potential energies:

H=K +U

For a system containing many particles, the Hamiltonian is a function of the positions qi of
each particle, the momenta pi of each particle, and time t. The equations of motion for each
particle can then be obtained by applying Hamilton’s equations:

∂H ∂H
ṗi = − q̇i =
∂qi ∂pi

Special relativity

The primary quantity one is concerned about in special relativity is the Lorentz factor γ, which
is given by:

1
γ=q
v2
1− c2

This Lorentz factor is what determines the amount of time dilation and length contraction
between relatively moving reference frames.
The relativistic energy is also something that comes up a lot:
p
E= p2 c2 + m2 c4

When performing, e.g., an energy conservation calculation involving a relativistically-moving

particle, this is the appropriate energy to use. When you need to relate either momentum or
energy directly to velocity (rather than just to one another), it is more convenient to use:

E = γmc2 p = γmv

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The relativistic velocity addition formula gives the observed (in the lab frame) velocity v of an
object moving with velocity v1 relative to a frame that is itself moving with v2 :

v1 + v2
v=
1 + v1c2v2

The spacetime interval, which is invariant across all frames, is given by:

ds2 = −c2 dt2 + dx2 + dy 2 + dz 2

The relativistic Doppler effect is given by:

s
v
1+ c
1+z = v
1− c

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Electricity and magnetism
Electrostatics

The electric potential from a point charge Q (and corresponding potential energy for a charge
q) at a distance r is given by:

Q qQ
φ= U = qφ =
4πε0 r 4πε0 r
The electric field is the gradient of the potential, and the electric force is the charge multiplied
by the field. For a point charge, this becomes:

Q qQ
E = −∇φ = F = qE =
4πε0 r2 4πε0 r2
Gauss’s law for the electric flux passing through a surface relates it to the charge enclosed by
that surface:
‹
Φ= E ~= Q
~ · dA
ε0
Alternatively, Gauss’s law can be written without an integral:

~ = ρ
∇·E
ε0

Magnetostatics

The magnetic field strength produced by an infinite, straight wire carrying current I at a
distance r away is given by:

µ0 I
B=
2πr
The magnetic field strength produced by a loop of wire of radius r carrying current I in the
center of the loop is given by:

µ0 I
B=
2r
The dipole moment of a loop of current (with current I and area A) is given by:

µ = IA

Electrodynamics

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 The Lorentz force – that is, the force a charged particle experiences in the presence of electric
and magnetic fields – is given by (in SI on the left and cgs on the right):

F~ = q E
~ + q~v × B
~ ~ + q ~v × B
F~ = q E ~
c
From Faraday’s law, the electromotive force (EMF) induced in a wire loop – which is the same
thing as a potential difference (i.e., a voltage) – is given by the time rate of change of the
magnetic flux through that loop:

dΦ
ε=−
dt
Lenz’s law comes from this equation, and states that a changing magnetic field will induce a
current that opposes the change (i.e., the induced current will produce a magnetic field in such
a way as to try to “counteract” the changing field).
The power radiated by an oscillating charge, called the Larmor power, is given by (in SI on the
left and cgs on the right):

q 2 a2 2q 2 a2
P = P =
6πε0 c3 3c3
Here, q is the charge and a is its acceleration.

Circuits

Ohm’s law relates the resistance R, voltage V , and current I in a circuit:

V = IR

The power dissipated by a circuit is given by:

V2
P = IV = I 2 R =
R
In an RLC circuit, the resonant frequency is given by:

1
ω0 = √
LC
Resistors

Equivalent resistance for the two typical circuit setups is:

 −1
1 1
Rseries = R1 + R2 Rparallel = +
R1 R2

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 The resistance of a piece of conducting material (e.g., a wire) with length `, cross-sectional area
A, and resistivity ρ is given by:

ρ`
R=
A
Capacitors

Capacitors connected in series will collect an equal charge, while capacitors connected in parallel
will have an equal voltage across them. The equivalent capacitance for the two cases is:
 −1
1 1
Cseries = + Cparallel = C1 + C2
C1 C2

The charge carried by a capacitor is given by:

Q = CV

The potential energy stored in a capacitor is given by:

1
U = CV 2
2
The electric field between two plates of a parallel-plate capacitor is given by:

σ
E=
0
Here, σ is the surface charge density on the plates.

Inductors

Inductors in series and parallel add like resistors do, so that we have:
 −1
1 1
Lseries = L1 + L2 Lparallel = +
L1 L2

The potential energy stored in an inductor carrying current I is given by:

1
U = LI 2
2

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Quantum mechanics
De Broglie wavelength
For a particle, the de Broglie wavelength is given by:

h
λ=
p
Wave function
The wave function ψ of a particle is a probability amplitude, which means that we need to
take its complex magnitude in order to recover the actual probability. These probabilities are
always normalized to unity, such that:
ˆ ˆ
1= 2
|ψ| dV = ψψ ∗ dV

Operators
Observable quantities in classical mechanics correspond to Hermitian operators in quantum
mechanics. When acting on a wave function, an operator returns an eigenvalue corresponding
to the observable. The expectation value of an operator – typically denoted hÂi for an operator
 – is the average value of many measurements of the same system:
ˆ
hÂi = hψ|Â|ψi = ψ ∗ ÂψdV

The most important operator in quantum mechanics is the Hamiltonian operator, which is
given by the Schrödinger equation:

∂
ĤΨ = i~ Ψ
∂t
The eigenvalues of the Hamiltonian operator are the energy levels of the system (i.e., the possible
values the energy can take). Some other important operators include the position operator (x̂ =
~x), the momentum operator (p̂ = −i~∇), ~ and the angular momentum operator (L̂ = x̂ × p̂)1 .
Eigenvalues for the momentum operator come in units of ~k (where k is a wavenumber),
while eigenvalues of the angular momentum operator are a bit more complicated (since the
eigenfunctions of the momentum operator are just exponentials while the eigenfunctions of the
angular momentum operators are spherical harmonics): for L̂2 , the eigenvalues are typically
written as `(` + 1)~2 ; for L̂z , the eigenvalues are m~. Spin is an angular momentum.
In general, quantum mechanical operators don’t commute. We thus define the commutator of
two operators  and B̂ as:

[Â, B̂] = ÂB̂ − B̂ Â

1
Note: these are the forms these operators take in what is known as position representation. They have analogous forms
in the conjugate momentum representation, but I’ve only ever seen position representation show up on the GRE.

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Quantum harmonic oscillator

A harmonic potential looks like:

1
V (x) = mω 2 x2
2
The energy levels of a harmonic oscillator are given by:
 
1
En = ~ω n +
2

Here, n is the principle quantum number (starts at n = 0).

Hydrogenic atoms

The energy levels of a hydrogenic atom are given by:

Z 2 µe4
 
1
En = −
32π 2 20 ~2 n2

Here, Z is the nuclear atomic number, µ is the reduced mass of the (two-body) system, e is the
electron charge, and n is the principle quantum number (starts at n = 1). Typically, in lieu
of memorizing this entire equation it is sufficient simply to know that En ∝ n12 , En ∝ Z 2 , and
En ∝ µ.

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Thermodynamics and statistical mechanics
First law
The first law of thermodynamics is just energy conservation:

δQ = T dS = P dV + dU
Here, heat transfer into the system is denoted as δQ (it would be negative for heat leaving the
system), entropy change is dS, work done by the system is P dV , and internal energy change is
dU . The majority of thermodynamics problems on the GRE are just various manipulations of
this equation.
Boltzmann statistics
For a system of particles in thermal equilibrium, the energies of the particles are distributed
according to a Boltzmann distribution. For N possible energy states, each of energy Ei and
degeneracy gi (typically on the GRE there will be no degeneracy, i.e. gi = 1), the probability
that a particle will occupy a given energy state (or equivalently, for a large system, the fraction
of particles that occupy that energy state) when the temperature is T is equal to:

gi e−Ei /kT
P (Ei ) =
Z
Here, Z is the partition function of the system, which is really just a normalization factor to
ensure that the probabilities sum to unity:

N
X
Z= gi e−Ei /kT
i

Equipartition theorem
A system in thermal equilibrium and having N (quadratic and independent) degrees of freedom
has an average internal energy given by:

N
hEi = kT
2
Specific heat
When heating or cooling a material, the amount of energy required to change the temperature
is specified by a quantity called the “specific heat” of the material, typically denoted as c (often
with some subscript specifying how it works). For the typical definition, a block of material
with mass m and specific heat c that heats (cools) by an amount ∆T must gain (lose) energy
given by:

Q = mc∆T
Here, Q once again denotes the heat transfer into (out of) of the material.

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Waves and optics
Wave velocities
The phase velocity is the speed at which a constant-phase portion of the wave (i.e., a crest or
a trough) travels:

ω
cp = = λν
k
The group velocity is the speed at which the envelope travels:

dω
cg =
dk
Doppler effect
The classic Doppler shift is given by:

v λ − λ0 ν0 − ν
z= = =
c λ0 ν
Here, v is the relative line-of-sight velocity between the source and observer (possibly relative
to the wave-carrying medium), c is the wave speed, and the subscript 0 indicates the emitted
value of a quantity. The convention used is that positive values of v are for objects moving
away from one another (redshift), while negative values indicate objects moving towards on
another (blueshift).
The special relativistic version of this formula is also sometimes useful:
s
v
1+ c
1+z = v
1− c

Double-slit experiment
The spacing of interference patters on a detector x depends on the wavelength of light λ, the
slit separation `, and the distance between slits and detector D as:

λD
x=
`
Refraction
When a wave passes from one medium to another, there is typically a change in the index of
refraction, n, between the two media. For a ray of light incident at an angle θ1 (as measured
from the vertical) onto an interface between two media with indices of refraction n1 and n2 ,
the refraction angle θ2 is given by Snell’s law:

n1 sin(θ1 ) = n2 sin(θ2 )

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Miscellaneous
Astronomy

The most common astronomy-related question that comes up is related to the diffraction limit
(i.e., best possible angular resolution) of a telescope. For a telescope of diameter D observing
at a wavelength λ, the best angular resolution that telescope can achieve is given by:

λ
θ ≈ 1.22
D
The intrinsic luminosity L of an object is related to the flux F we observe from a distance r
away by:

L
F =
4πr2
The flux of a blackbody can be obtained from the Stefan-Boltzmann law:

F = σT 4

Statistics

The variance of a sample of N measurements with average value hxi is given by:

N
1 X
2
σ = (xi − hxi)2
N i=1

For events that follow a Poisson distribution, the variance is equal to the mean.

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